Chapter 7. RHEL Installations on IBM Power Servers

You can install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on various IBM Power System servers.

7.1. Supported IBM Power Servers

You can install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on IBM Power Systems. You can find the complete list of supported IBM Power servers on the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog.

7.2. Preparing installation media for installing RHEL on IBM Power Servers

You can install RHEL on IBM Power servers by using a virtual DVD (vDVD), bootable USB drive, or network. To prepare the installation media, you must download the ISO file from the Red Hat Customer portal.

Prerequisites

  • You have an active Red Hat subscription.
  • You are logged in to the Product Downloads section of the Red Hat Customer Portal at Product Downloads.

Procedure

  1. From the Product Downloads page, select the By Category tab.

  2. Click Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

    The Download Red Hat Enterprise Linux web page opens.

  3. From the Product Variant drop-down menu, select Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, Little Endian.

  4. From the Version drop-down menu, select the RHEL version you want to download.

    By default, the latest version for the selected variant and architecture is selected.

    The Product Software tab displays the image files, which include:

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Binary DVD image,
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Boot ISO image, and
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux KVM Guest Image.

  5. Click Download Now beside the ISO image that you require.

    You can prepare a bootable physical installation medium, such as a USB or DVD, based on the installation method you choose to install RHEL on IBM Power Servers. For more information, see Creating a bootable installation medium for RHEL.

7.3. Overview of the installation process on PowerVM LPAR by using the HMC

You can install RHEL on the PowerVM logical partition (LPAR) by using the Hardware Management Console. A Hardware Management Console (HMC) is a hardware appliance that you can use to administer IBM Power Systems servers.

The installation workflow involves the following general steps:

  1. Download the RHEL installation ISO.
  2. Prepare a bootable physical installation medium based on your installation method.

  3. Verify that the Power System is added to the HMC.

    For more information, see add or remove connections to HMC in the IBM documentation.

  4. Configure VIOS and LPAR on the managed system or configure full system LPAR based on the requirements.
  5. Log in to the HMC console.
  6. Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

For detailed instructions, see Installing Linux on PowerVM LPAR by using the HMC in the IBM documentation.

7.4. Overview of the installation process on IBM Power Servers with the graphics card

You can install RHEL on IBM Power Systems servers with the graphics card.

The installation workflow involves the following general steps:

  1. Download the RHEL installation ISO.
  2. Prepare a bootable physical installation medium based on your installation method.
  3. Prepare the machine for RHEL installation.
  4. Boot the installer kernel.
  5. Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
  6. Optional: Install IBM Tools Repository to use Service and Productivity tools, IBM Advance Toolchain for Linux on Power, and IBM SDK for PowerLinux.

For detailed instructions, see Installing Linux on Power Systems servers with a graphics card in the IBM documentation.

Additional resources

  • For instructions to install hardware in a rack, see IBM Knowledge Center and search for your power hardware.

7.5. Overview of the installation process on IBM Power Servers by using the serial console

You can install RHEL on IBM Power Systems servers by using the serial console.

The installation workflow involves the following general steps:

  1. Download the RHEL installation ISO.
  2. Prepare a bootable physical installation medium based on your installation method.
  3. Prepare your machine for the RHEL installation.
  4. Boot the installer kernel.

  5. Start a VNC session.

    For more information, see Performing a remote RHEL installation by using VNC.

  6. Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
  7. Optional: Install IBM Tools Repository to use additional software. For more information, see IBM Linux on Power tools repository.

For detailed instructions, see Installing Linux on Power Systems servers by using the serial console in the IBM documentation.